Martyr De Mona

Martyr De Mona are a progressive UK rock-metal band hailing from Stourbridge in the Midlands’ Black Country, which used to be the home of other legendary rock bands, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Judas Priest.

Titled “The darlings of the Birmingham metal scene” by Rock3 Music Magazine’s Mel Jones, Martyr De Mona have lived up to their reputation as a live class live act. ‘Band of the Year’ nominees for The Pure Rawk Awards 2012, the band have so far played at sell out shows at The Little Civic, and The Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton, JB’s in Dudley, The Kasbah in Coventry, Birmingham’s 02 Academy, and The Shed in Leicester. The band have now progressed onto venues further afield, like The Snooty Fox in Wakefield, and The Mexborough Civic, as they expand their ever-growing fan-base.

Their four track EP, Eva, was produced by Russell Tite (Machine Head, Bullet For My Valentine, The Kooks), and is distributed by the band’s record label, Eagle Two Records. The EP has gained positive reviews in magazines and webzines such as Metal Hammer, Powerplay, Black Velvet Magazine and Midlands Rocks, with all 4 tracks gaining airplay on several national radio stations including Kerrang, Onslaught Radio, Total Biker FM, Total Rock Radio and Phoenix Radio and even in America on Fox FM!

And the band’s self-titled album, also released by the same record label, contains ten songs including their best-selling hit, The Jackal. Their music is classic modern heavy metal, with a similar mixture of bands such as Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend, and Asking Alexandria.

The band is made up of lead singer and guitarist Louis Hale, guitarist and vocalist Ant Rickett, bassist and vocalist Joshua Wooldridge and drummer Ashley Leatherland. The band’s musical influences include Alice in Chains, Down, Alter Bridge, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, Pearl Jam, and A Perfect Circle.

“I first picked up a guitar at the age of 10 after my brother got me hooked on Iron Maiden and Guns N’ Roses,” lead singer Louis explains, “I was fascinated by the guitar work of these bands. Both bands inspired me to learn to play the guitar. I became competent on my nylon stringed acoustic, and my parents bought me a second hand Fender Strat copy one Christmas. Vocally my biggest inspiration is Layne Staley of Alice in Chains.”

Martyr De Mona will be touring around the country from August 2012 until December 2012. They will also be playing at Kerrang’s Emma Scott Presents gig, supporting The Whiskey Syndicate with Zodiac in Black on Sunday 28th October in Wolverhampton. You can buy tickets at www.mdmstore.bigcartel.com.

For more information about the band, and for a full list of event listings, please visit the band’s Facebook page. You can also follow Martyr De Mona on Twitter, and listen to their music Last.FM and YouTube.